Lean Manager

Today’s post highlights three necessary components of Lean office work needed to build a flexibility into your operation. A family friend took off earlier this week with over 500 co-workers to head down to Florida in advance of the latest hurricane....

Today’s post provides five lessons in teaching your team skills for effective problem solving. This summer, I taught my oldest son how to ride a bike without training wheels. I used to think learning to ride a bike was frightening . . . now I realize...

Do you manage 5S Audits in Excel spreadsheets or on paper? We’ve got exciting news for you – we just released a completely free, cloud-based tool for managing your 5S Audits! By signing up for a free account, you can manage up to 20 different...

Today’s post provides tips for implementing visual management in office and service environments. At the start of every year, I like to do my part to help level-load the demand of local businesses. The business I’m most concerned about as...

‘Twas the night before Kaizen, And all through the shop, Not a machine was moving, Switches all set to “stop.” Employees and management, All tucked in their beds, With visions of improvement, Dancing in their heads. Very early the next...

Today’s post defines what it means to embrace failure. “Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be.” – John Wooden My favorite all-time interview question is simple: Tell me about a time when you tried to do something...

Today’s post discusses a better way for Lean managers to view problem solving and the opportunities that can come from problems you will encounter. Of all the seasons, fall is definitely the favorite in my house. The days are a little cooler, the...

Today’s post tells the origin story of a popular module in The Lean Office – Gemba Walks! The idea for our Gemba Walks module came from conversation with a Supply Chain Vice President who works in a distribution environment. He explained...

Exciting news! Based on input from our users, we are pleased to add another new module to The Lean Office – Kaizen Events! The new module was released this morning, and is built to work on both computers and tablets. While many organizations have...

Today’s post outlines three benefits of making Daily Accountability a part of your organization’s Lean Management System. “Accountability turns pain into peace.” – Anonymous There are people in this world that I believe...